Angel
by Eliana Panthera
Summary: //’ Kate was like a small, blood-stained angel lying in the snow.’// -Kate/Ziva-


**Title: **Angel

**Rating: **T

**Genre: **Angst/Romance/Hurt/Comfort

**Character(s): **Ziva David, Kate Todd

**Pairing(s): **Kate/Ziva

**Summary: **//' Kate was like a small, blood-stained angel lying in the snow.'//

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it. Sure, I want to. But you can't always get what you want.

**Author's Note: **I've been writing too much angst lately. But it's fun! Or maybe I'm just masochistic like that or something.

**Author's Note 2: **I read through this a couple of times for typos and all that jazz, but I probably missed a few things. Feel free to tell me if I did so I can correct them later.

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Ziva was not sure, exactly, how she ended up on her knees, shorts doing nothing to protect her skin from the cold snow. She was not sure why she was wearing shorts in the middle of winter, either. But that was not important right now.

One second, everything had been perfectly calm and peaceful—nothing strange, nothing wrong. Then the next second, Ziva had found herself sitting on her knees on a layer of powdery, chilling fluff, shivering violently.

Biting her lips to keep her teeth from chattering, Ziva tried to remember how she had gotten here. But her mind was blank in between the peaceful calm and the frozen landscape before her. She had forgotten how and why she was here. That was not a good thing—at all.

Even that was not her greatest worry, though. Her greatest worry was the fact that the snow beneath her was not white, but stained a pinkish-red. Ziva knew there could be only two causes for it—someone had spilled ketchup, or the snow was stained with blood. At least, those were the only two possibilities that Ziva's foggy, clouded brain could come up with.

Ziva refused to look up, staring at her hands. She was not sure why she would not look to see what lay before her. It felt as though some invisible force were holding her still, controlling her every action and movement. She would only be able to look up when it wanted her to.

Shivering, Ziva tried to win the battle with the invisible force. It was a struggle, and the movement of her head when she finally won felt strangely slow and sluggish. What she saw was not what she expected at all.

Lying on the snow was the horrifyingly familiar figure of Kate Todd. Her brown hair was splayed around her head like a halo, her bright hazel eyes closed. Her skin was deathly pale, her lips a frightening shade of blue.

What terrified Ziva the most was the blood that stained Kate's white dress a maroon color. Yet, despite all of the blood, the brunette looked strangely peaceful, almost like she was sleeping. But Ziva doubted that she could gently prod the brunette in the ribs and have those beautiful eyes open, those perfect lips curl into a sleepy smile.

Kate was like a small, blood-stained angel lying in the snow.

Ziva did not have to check for a pulse to know that Kate was dead—the pale skin, blue lips, and the blood were enough to tell her that—but she did so anyway. Kate's skin was freezing cold as Ziva placed her fingers against it, and she had to yank them back and take several deep breaths before she could try again.

Nothing. Nothing at all.

_No, no, no! _

Ziva thought that she had screamed the words in her head and not out loud, but a bird gave a startled squawked and launched out of a nearby bush, proving her wrong. Ziva did not care, shivering and choking on the tears she was holding back.

"No…" Ziva gasped, voice coming out in a soft whisper. She sucked in a breath and said again, "No!" This time it came as a ragged, almost animalistic scream, tearing from her throat so harshly that it hurt.

Chest heaving, Ziva shivered again—but not from cold this time. Everything hurt. Ziva's head throbbed endlessly, a heavy pounding that made it feel as though someone were hammering on her skull. Over and over and over.

Kate. Why Kate? Why not her instead?

Ziva let out a sob, and everything crashed down around her. She wanted to fall to the ground, to be so dead and peaceful like Kate was. But she was here and Kate was not and it hurt so damn much.

"Ziva."

The voice broke through her subconscious, distant and almost haunting. Ziva ignored it, and it said again, "Ziva. Ziva!" It tugged at her brain, familiarity slowly seeping through the confusion and pain that had piled on top of her. She knew that voice. The voice that was slowly pulling her away from the frozen landscape and Kate, a tug just behind her navel.

Then suddenly, Ziva was no longer in the cold, frosty, unnamed land. Kate was no longer lying dead in the snow. There was no blood, no cold. Just Ziva, a warm hand on her arm, and the sobs and gasps that tore from her throat.

"Ziva, it's okay. I'm right here," The voice that spoke softly in her ear was familiar, as were the strong arms that pulled her close. She smelled the scent of peppermints and vanilla, and realization hit her like a freight train.

Kate was the one rocking her back and forth, running a hand through her hair and gently whispering comforting words into her ear. Ziva was home, in her bed. Kate was alive. Everything was okay. Everything would be fine.

"Kate…you-you are okay. I thought I h-had lost you. I-I was...afraid," Ziva choked out, and Kate kissed her forehead lightly. Nightmares usually did not bother Ziva this much, but the one that she had just had was horrifying.

Gently rubbing Ziva's back, Kate whispered soothingly, "I'm okay Ziva. I'm right here, and I'm not leaving. I promise." There was an undeniable sincerity in her voice that made Ziva feel completely safe and protected.

When the Israeli had finally composed herself, she pulled away and did not meet Kate's eyes, "I am sorry. I do not know what came over me. Did I wake you up?"

"Don't apologize, Z," Kate murmured, running her hand through Ziva's hair absentmindedly, "We all have nightmares sometimes. And you did wake me up by screaming in your sleep," Ziva winced, and Kate continued, "but I'm okay with that. It's not your fault."

Swallowing thickly, Ziva closed her eyes and tried to force the dream from her mind. It refused to budge, and she knew that it would not be easy to get to sleep. She probably would be up for the rest of the night. She let out a shuddering breath then, without any reason at all except for the fact that she wanted to, she whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Kate replied quietly, kissing Ziva's forehead again before murmuring, "Let's try to get back to sleep. I promise you, I'll stay right here."

She tenderly wrapped her arms around Ziva's waist and pulled her close. Ziva let out a small sigh, closing her eyes tightly. She was surprised when no images from her dream haunted her vision. Surprised, but not upset. She felt safe in Kate's arms. A comforting warmth spread through her body, and Ziva felt her muscles relaxing, her breath slowing back to normal speed.

Maybe, just maybe, she would get back to sleep tonight after all.

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